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(ANA-MPA) -- The labour law and pension reforms proposed by the
government were discussed and approved by the Cabinet on Friday, in a
meeting chaired by Prime Minister George Papandreou. Addressing his
ministers, Papandreou emphasised the importance of the decisions made
and said that they sought to establish a climate of certainty, security
and confidence in each for every Greek citizen, including working
people, pensioners and the disabled. (ANA-MPA)

Commenting on the reforms to the pension and social insurance system,
Papandreou stressed that changes to this were inevitable even if Greece
had not turned to the eurozone-IMF support package and signed the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Certain of the changes would have
been even faster than they were now, even if some decisions were more
painful for certain social classes, he added.

The prime minister stressed that a social insurance system had first to
be viable and secondly to instil a sense of fairness, while it should
also be clear that the government would make every effort to improve
the position of pensioners as the country's fiscal state and economy
improved. (ANA-MPA)

Papandreou particularly emphasised the lack of an organised and
structured welfare system in Greece, announcing that work was underway
on organising such as system, with the government's proposals on this
issue likely to be presented in the autumn. He promised "real and
systematic help" for all those that needed welfare support, ranging
from pensioners and the disabled to the unemployed, in such as way as
to help them be active members of society. (ANA-MPA)

On labour issues, the prime minister said that there now appeared some
hope that trade unions and employers would be able to reach some sort
of agreement through a process of collective labour negotiations,
agreements that would cover both labour and wage issues and lead to a
collective labour agreement for the coming years.